A couple of weeks ago a client emailed me with great concern. He received a letter that looked like a government demand for $225, lest a penalty of $250 be imposed by the state. It turns out that the letter was not from the state, but from Corporate Business Filings, the latest addition to my Hall of Shame.

Most of the way down the second page, the letter does have an oddly-worded disclaimer that there is no obligation to pay the amount requested. However, even though the disclaimer is upper-case, it is not nearly so prominent as the fear-inducing language in the rest of the letter – and it does not comply with a disclaimer that has been required by law since January 1, 2012.

My client is not the only one who was misled. Scambook has dozens of complaints, many of which clustered in mid-April.

Perhaps most disheartening, a search of the Secretary of State database shows that the agent for service of process address is the same as a law firm in Beverly Hills. In other words, it appears that one or more of my legal colleagues has enabled this corporation’s misleading activities!

Dana Shultz is a business-savvy lawyer located in Northern California's San Francisco Bay Area (in the East Bay, near Oakland) who has in-depth knowledge of law, business, technology, and the needs of startup and early-stage companies.